Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Read More David Roberts

Roberts writes a piece where he catalogs how the Right has cauterized themselves off from reality, and how that plays out in our institutions.  In particular, he looks at the Al Franken case where the Democrats have held themselves to standards of morality that Republicans reject on some levels. I do think however, the resignation of Trent Franks is a counterargument to the idea that Republicans don't care at all.

What often goes unargued in these pieces is the fact that basic institutions and norms are under attack from Hair Furor on a daily basis.  When Democrats step up and have a liberal lion like Franken resign, they aren't simply clarifying their political message against Trump and Moore (though that helps).  They are also standing up for institutions that don't have sexual offenders in them. 

That's important, too.

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